2000
#56,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 336
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Balliett
A surname derived from a nickname referring to someone with a large or stout build.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 369 Americans carry the last name Balliett. That puts it at #66,338 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 928,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balliett surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
369
1 in 928,874
Census rank
#66,338
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
322
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 322 bearers of the surname Balliett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 66338th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balliett, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balliett
The surname Balliett is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word 'ballier,' which referred to an official responsible for overseeing a specific territory or region. The name first emerged in the 13th century in the southwestern regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the Rhineland and Swabia areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Balliett can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Salemitanus, a collection of medieval documents from the Benedictine monastery of Salem in Baden-Württemberg, dated around 1280. The name appears as 'Balliet,' which was likely a variant spelling at the time.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Balliett surname was associated with several prominent individuals, including Heinrich Balliett (c. 1320-1389), a magistrate and landowner in the city of Mainz, and Konrad Balliett (c. 1425-1498), a renowned scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Heidelberg.
As the Balliett family expanded and migrated across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Balliet, Ballieth, and Balliet. In the 16th century, records show a Johannes Balliet (c. 1510-1582) who served as a mayor in the town of Speyer, in modern-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
In the 17th century, the Balliett surname made its way to the Netherlands, where it was recorded as 'Balliett' and 'Balliet.' One notable figure from this period was Pieter Balliett (1624-1686), a Dutch merchant and trader who established a successful business in Amsterdam.
As the Balliett family continued to spread across Europe, some members eventually immigrated to the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly to the United States and Canada. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America is that of Jacob Balliett (1735-1815), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania and fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Other notable individuals with the surname Balliett include Johann Balliett (1788-1862), a German musician and composer who lived in the early 19th century, and William Balliett (1868-1944), an American businessman and philanthropist from Pennsylvania.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balliett
Among Census respondents with the surname Balliett, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Balliett bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Balliett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 296
- Two or more races3.4% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 7
- Black or African American1.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balliett
Balliett appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#57,372
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 355
+19 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 546 places
2020
#66,338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 322
-33 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 8,966 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #56,826 | 336 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #57,372 | 355 | 0.12 | +19 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 546 places |
| 2020 | #66,338 | 322 | 0.11 | -33 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 8,966 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Balliett surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #57,372 | #66,338 | -15.6% |
| Count | 355 | 322 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.11 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balliett bearers went from 355 to 322 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 8,966 positions in the national ranking, going from #57,372 to #66,338.
FAQ
Balliett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balliett?
Name Census estimates that about 369 living Americans carry the surname Balliett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 928,874 residents.
How common is Balliett?
Balliett ranks #66,338 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 322 people with the surname Balliett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (369), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Balliett.
Has Balliett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balliett went from 355 recorded bearers to 322. That is a decrease of 33 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #57,372 to #66,338.
What does the Census say about the background of Balliett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balliett, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Balliett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (296 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balliett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Balliett (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Balliett mean?
A surname derived from a nickname referring to someone with a large or stout build. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Balliett (0.11 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Balliett?
You can see how many people are called Balliett on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.